Theme of 7th Annual Event is “Point of No Return”
Portsmouth, NH —Point of No Return.
It’s the name of a song by 1970s hair band Kansas as well as a 1993 film noir thriller. And, this year, it’s the theme of TEDxPortsmouth 2019.
Continuing the TEDx tradition of “locally grown ideas worth sharing,” the diverse lineup of speakers who take center stage at The Music Hall on Friday, Sept. 13, will each bring a unique twist to what “Point of No Return” means in their personal story. The theme also invites hundreds of audience members and live-stream viewers to reflect on what this evocative phrase means to each of us.
Tickets for the seventh annual TEDxPortsmouth will go on sale later this summer; the event will also be live online at www.tedxportsmouth.com.
TEDxPortsmouth is a community-organized, one-day event featuring more than a dozen speakers—spanning a wide variety of topics and industries—with the mission to share big ideas that inspire action.
“This is my favorite day of the year — a chance to celebrate great ideas coming from within our community,” says Anna Goldsmith, co-organizer of TEDxPortsmouth.com. Amy Sterndale, her co-organizer, agrees: “We’re thrilled to help create an experience that lifts us from our daily grind and inspires us to think big and make our community better.”
Last year, more than 600 community leaders and decision-makers from area businesses, nonprofit organizations, secondary and higher education, and local government attended TEDxPortsmouth. This year the event will be even bigger.
“We are lucky to have some amazing community minded sponsors this year who have made an event of this caliber possible,” says Goldsmith. Sponsors for the 2019 event include: The Kane Co., Kennebunk Savings, Saltwater, Catchfire Creative, Heinemann, DeStefano Architects, Eversource, Mad*Pow, DTC Lawyers, Mulhern & Scott, Winter Holben, UNH and Manypenny Murphy Architecture. Piscataqua Savings Bank, Petersen Engineering, Frontier Justice Digital, Feminist Oasis, NHPBS, Seacoast Lately and HappsNow.
More than 70 speakers auditioned for a coveted spot in the 2019 lineup. “We are proud to welcome a more diverse speaker lineup to the stage to reflect the inclusiveness of the entire TEDxPortsmouth community,” says Goldsmith. “We’re also trying to bring more levity to the stage this year. While we won’t shy away from hard conversations, we are striving to bring a little more fun to the event.” The team has made their selections and the final speaker roster will be announced in mid-June.
Tickets for the event will go on sale in June. For more information about TEDxPortsmouth, and to sign up for email newsletter updates, visit www.tedxportsmouth.com.
TEDxPortsmouth is a community-organized, one-day event featuring more than a dozen speakers — spanning a wide variety of topics and industries — with the mission to share big ideas that inspire action. More information is available at www.tedxportsmouth.com as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to ideas worth spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED conferences, including an annual gathering in Vancouver, as well as TEDWomen, intimate TED Salons and thousands of independently organized TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available for free on TED.com at